WHY ARE CHILDREN DEVELOPING MORE AND MORE ALLERGIES ? SCIENTISTS LOOK AT THE ALARMING RATE OF ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN

 

Allergies have always been common, but lately the rate of allergies in children has risen by 50%.  And what is more worrisome, they are rising in categories that used to be secondary, such ask skin reactions and food allergies, which took a backseat to more common symptoms like sneezing and respiratory complications.

Some are blaming increasing levels of hygiene in households, which are taken away our ability to form some sort of immunity towards common pollutants.  

The CDC says that 1 in 20 children now have food allergies.  That's a whopping 50% more than in the previous decade.  Eczema is up 69%.  

Surprisingly, respiratory complications in allergies have remained steady.  

The first to be alerted to the trend were school nurses, who have had to adopt protocols for the prevention of peanut allergies and other common food allergens. 

In fact the surge was noticed best in 2005, when nurses started to see discreet numbers in almost all classrooms.  

Most food allergies are mild, although of course, some carry the risk of anaphylaxis. Skin allergies too are not as severe, and most tend to recede after a short time. 

In some cases researchers noticed that some kids would be in a clinic for allergic symptoms but that they were not really allergic to the foods.  An example is hives that derive from a viral infection, which parents had thought was a severe allergic reaction. 

But some scientists are betting that the upward tick is not a fluke and are suspecting there might be novel reasons for the increasing cases. 

Some are pointing their finger at air pollution, and others are suspecting that food production and processing might have perverted the natural order of things, creating unexpected immune responses.  One example is the pervasive use of antibiotic in feed. Another is the cross breeding of wheat.  

Some doctors have suggested a waiting period before parents introduce their children to highly allergenic foods, such as milk, eggs, and peanuts. But this strategy has already been tried and it has not given good results.  Some now say that's entirely wrong, and the opposite should be done. 

The CDC also found that eczema and skin allergies are more common among the poor, whereas black children have more skin problems than other groups. 

Source : Boston globe   5.3.13